Board approves $2,000 bump for county attorney legal assistant, continues county attorney posting and approves department budget

The Osceola County Board of Supervisors debated staffing, compensation and recruitment for the county attorney’s office and took three actions: it approved a $2,000 pay increase for the office’s legal assistant, agreed to keep the county attorney job posting open until the position is filled, and approved the county attorney departmental budget as discussed.

County Attorney (interim) and staff described a sustained workload in the office, including multiple major felony prosecutions, juvenile matters and routine court dockets. The interim outlined that the legal assistant, Elizabeth Olsen, has taken on expanded duties, including bilingual assistance for Spanish-speaking defendants and extensive casework coordination, and argued for a graduated salary approach; Olsen also spoke to bilingual assistance in court-adjacent matters.

The board first considered a $1,000 increase beyond the 3.5% built into the budget; that motion failed. Schulte then moved, DeBoer supported, a $2,000 increase above the budgeted 3.5% for the legal assistant; the motion passed on a 4–1 vote. The board resolved to reflect that increase in the county attorney’s budget.

Directors and board members also discussed hiring a part-time victim-witness coordinator or adding a part-time position to support fine collection and victim services; staff recommended budgeting for a part-time hire in the $26,000–$30,000 range if pursued, or using an intern for a limited trial period. The board approved the county attorney departmental budget (motion by Schulte, support from Loring) that the minutes record as including a $130,000 figure for county attorney salary, $25,000 (approx.) for a potential part-time/intern position and the approved $2,000 increase for the legal assistant to be reflected in the line items.

On recruitment, the board voted (motion by Scholte, support from Helmers) to continue advertising the county attorney opening until it is filled and to post on appropriate channels including the Iowa County Attorney Association and association job boards. The board discussed an existing 28E agreement with Lyon County for interim county attorney services through April and the possibility of extending or restructuring coverage; no formal extension vote was recorded today. Staff noted options for sharing interim duties among attorneys, and clarified that an appointed or elected county attorney must reside in the county while serving as the official.

Board members asked staff to return with more detailed budget numbers and with recruitment outreach plans; staff said they would continue to coordinate with neighboring counties, court clerks and state associations to find candidates and to refine funding options for any part-time victim-witness or fine-collection position.